The Berthoud Spartan wrestling team kicked off their 2010 season on Friday night with a non-conference match against the Thompson Valley Eagles in the Berthoud High gym. Thompson Valley won the team event by a score of 49-21. Despite the team loss, five Spartan wrestlers – Robby Workman (135lbs), Alex Sadlo (140lbs), Cory Ellis (160lbs), J.T. Pickert (215lbs) and Josh Atkinson (275lbs) – won their matches.

“Let me first start off by saying Thompson Valley is a very, very good team,” long-time Berthoud High Wrestling Coach Scott Pickert said after the match. The Eagles pinned six Spartans on the night and won the 103-pound class by forfeit, as Berthoud lacked a wrestler in that weight class. The Spartans were without three key wrestlers Friday night; Kegan Gavaldon and Casey Couch are suspended for disciplinary reasons and Cooper Wynn missed Friday night’s match due to illness. Despite missing the three wrestlers, Coach Pickeret was not about to make excuses, “they kind of took it to us tonight so let’s give credit where credit is due.”

Thompson Valley’s Aaron Trowbridge set the tone for the Eagles in the first match of the night, topping Berthoud’s Alex Kingsley 13-6 in the 112lb class. Berthoud’s Austin Bending, wrestling in place of the suspended Gavaldon in the 119lb class, was pinned in the third period of his match by Thompson Valley’s Travis Felker. The Eagles pinned the next two Spartans as well; Preston Pickert (125lbs) and Tylor Bethel (130lbs) by Tanner Taylor and Zach Chavez, respectively.

The Spartans turned things around in the next two matches. In the 135lb weight class, Berthoud’s Robby Workman pinned his opponent. Workman is the number-one ranked wrestler in his weight class in Colorado class 3A. Berthoud’s Alex Sadlo, wrestling in the 140lb class, won his match by 7-0 decision. Wrestling for Berthoud in place of Cooper Wynn on Friday night was Nick Fleegal in the 145lb class. Fleegal was pinned by Thompson Valley wrestler Kyle McNally.

Berthoud’s best individual performances of the night came in the heavier weight classes. The Spartans won three of the final five matches of the night. Berthoud’s Cory Ellis, a junior, fought hard for three full rounds to earn his 9-4 victory in the 160lb class. “I had to work and work but finally I got my legs in, ultimately I think I just got him tired.” Ellis said as he caught his breath after the match.

In the penultimate match of the night, senior Spartan wrestler J.T. Pickert would make quick work of his opponent, Lee Chieppo. Pickert would get the pin 1:56 into the first round to take the victory in the 215lb class. When asked if he was attempting to pin Chieppo as quickly as possible, Pickert said, “Yeah, we really needed a pin.” Pickert said that he wanted to get his opponent pinned as quickly as he could but was not going to go for the pin unless he had an opportunity. Once he had over-powered Chieppo and got him down on the mat, the pin came quickly. Speaking on the team’s performance on the night, Pickert said, “the whole team needs to get better, we look unconditioned.”

Berthoud’s Josh Atkinson won a 12-5 decision in the final match of the night. Atkinson’s victory in the 275lb class made the final team score 49-21. “I knew we would have a difficult time with this school tonight” Coach Pickert said after the match but added, “I think we’re in better shape than we showed tonight and we’re going to be ok. We’ve got to work on some things and clean some things up.”

The Spartan wrestlers will get a chance to get back on mats on Saturday at the Golden Invitational and then again next Friday and Saturday in Pueblo. The Berthoud wrestling team will be on the road for tournaments for more than a month. Their next meet at home will come on January 15 for the Soeby Classic Invitational.